2 Easy Ways to Video Chat With Friends on Facebook

Using the Facebook Website

Connect a webcam to your computer. If your computer doesn't have a webcam connected, you'll need to install one before you can video chat.

Open the Chat menu on the Facebook website. Click the Chat menu in the lower-right corner to open the Chat menu if it isn't open already. You'll need to use Chrome, Opera, or Edge, but group calling is not supported in Firefox or Edge.

Select the person you want to video chat with. You can select people you commonly chat with within the list, or you can search through all of your friends by typing their names into the field at the bottom of the list.

Click the video chat button. The button looks like a silhouette of a video camera. A new window will appear for the video chat. If you are not able to click the video chat button, the recipient is not able to receive video calls.

Allow Facebook to access your webcam. The process for this will vary depending on the browser you are using. Generally, you'll need to click "Allow" or "Share" to allow Facebook to access your webcam.

Wait for the other person to pick up. The recipient will be notified either through the Facebook website or in their Messenger app, depending on their online status. If they choose to answer, your video chat will begin.

Using the Messenger App

Open Messenger. This app icon looks like a speech bubble with a lightning bolt inside it that you'll find on one of your Home screens, in the app drawer, or by searching. You can video chat with your friends using the Messenger app on iOS and Android.

Open a conversation with the person you want to video chat with. Tap the conversation you want to start the video chat with. You can video chat with a group or individual.

Tap Android 7 Videocamera at the top of the conversation. This video camera icon will begin calling the other person. If the button is grayed out or not there, the other person is not able to receive video calls at this time.

Wait for the other person to pick up. The recipient will be notified that they are receiving a video call. They'll be able to answer using their Messenger app or the Facebook website and a webcam.

Press the camera swap button to switch between the front and rear cameras. Tap this button during the video chat to switch what camera Messenger displays.